It's All A Scam
by Gollum
Summary: Title says it all. Harry discovers that everything he's believed is a lie. Hogwarts does not exist. Oh, poor cikle Harry - please review!!!!


Harry felt cheerful as he walked to his final lesson of the year before his OWL exams the following week. It was a bright summer's day, most of the teachers had told him that they had plenty of faith in his ability for the exams and that he barely needed to revise at all – not that Hermione let him listen – Cho Chang had smiled at him across the corridoor, and to top it off his last lesson was charms – a nice practical lesson. Charms was always fun, Professor Flitwick was perfectly approachable and once you got the hang of a spell, it was fairly easy.  
  
Harry slid into his seat between Hermione and Ron.  
  
'Cutting it fine,' Hermione hissed sternly, 'you were nearly late.'  
  
'Nearly,' Harry agreed calmly, taking his wand out of his robes.  
  
'We're learning the Haractercis spell today!' Ron whispered excitedly, 'I can't wait! Now I'll really be a match for Fred and George.'  
  
'Haractercis?' Harry whispered back, 'what's that?'  
  
'Honestly,' Hermione sighed, 'don't you read? It brings alive any inane object. It's the most difficult spell we get taught for the OWLs, because it can go wrong so easily, and you have to actually give the object a character. I tried it on matchbox last week. Look,' out of her pocket she produced a matchbox, which lay still on the table for a second before struggling, slug-like, towards Hermione's outstretched hand. She caressed the drawer gently and it lifted up its top a little, like a cat, enjoying being stroked. Hermione gave Ron and Harry a smug smile and slid it back into her pocket, as Professor Flitwick entered and assumed his usual position on top of a pile of books.  
  
'Now class,' he said in his usual squeaky voice, 'today, as you probably know, we'll be performing the Heractercis spell. It's in 'Standard Book of Spells, volume 3, Chapter 9', where you will find a very comprehensive description of how to perform the task. We will be giving characters to these envelopes. I will now hand out a piece of paper to each of you, which will have the desired character written on it;' he swished and flicked his wand at a pile of small pieces of paper, and a pile of envelopes, muttering 'Wingardium Leviosa' and they danced onto the desk. Harry got 'embarassed', Ron 'shy' and Hermione 'outgoing', and they began to work.  
  
It was difficult, Harry found. The book aid you had to imagine very hard the character trait, then say the spell word followed by the trait, but not matter how hard he imagined and how strongly he said 'Harachtercis Embarrassed,' his envelope did nothing.  
  
'You're not doing the proper wand technique,' Hermione said knowingly, her own envelope already sitting confidently upright, looking around, 'Book three, remember? So it's a figure of eight swish. A swish-a-swish-and- flick. Flick right in the centre of your figure of eight. That's better. Concentrate.'  
  
Harry's envelope gave a small flutter, and visibly reddened at one corner. Hermione nodded. 'Keep going,' she ordered, 'it'll get there. Oh, honestly, Ron, what on earth are you doing…?'  
  
Harry ignored them both as he concentrated on his envelope.  
  
'Haractercis Embarrased,' he said strongly. The envelope stood up and folded over a little at the reddish corner, as if looking away. Harry sighed contentedly – that was good enough for him.  
  
The sun suddenly burst out from behind a cloud, and streamed onto the envelope. It was then that he noticed something odd. There was a thread at the upright corner of the envelope. Gently, he outstretched his hand, and pulled at the thread. It was strong – stiff as a piece of metal. He traced it to the desk. Yes – unless he was very much mistaken, the wire was actually holding up his envelope. He studied it more closely. It was very, very thin. He could barely see it with a naked eye – wouldn't have noticed it if the sun had not fallen on it.  
  
He pulled the envelope off of the wire, and it fluttered to the desk, lifeless. Harry gave a jump.  
  
'Hermione!' he whispered, prodding her, 'Hermione, look!'  
  
'What now?' she turned from helping Ron.  
  
'My envelope was being held up by a piece of wire' Harry hissed.  
  
Hermione reddened. Her eyes flickered to the floor, then to Flitwick, who had not noticed them, then to the envelope. Ron looked at Harry for a second, then back at his own envelope.  
  
'It must have just been stuck on,' Hermione concluded briskly.  
  
'But now my envelope is lifeless.'  
  
'Well, obviously you didn't do the spell properly.'  
  
Harry frowned, and tried again. The envelope did not move. Hermione, Harry noticed, was glancing meaningfully at Flitwick when she thought he was not looking.  
  
'What's going on?' Harry asked.  
  
'Nothing,' Hermione said busily, 'just keep trying. I must go and get a glass of water.' With that, she disappeared from the classroom. Her envelope was sitting very still on the desk, still upright. Harry studied it closely. Sure enough, under one corner was the same hair-thin wire. He looked at Ron.  
  
'Ron!' he hissed, 'they're cheating us!'  
  
'What?' Ron asked uncomfortably.  
  
'Well, look! These enveloped are held up by miniscule little wires! It's a cheat. Look, I bet yours is too. It is, see!' Harry pulled the envelope away from the desk, at which it instantly fell lifeless. Ron looked at the floor.  
  
'Well?' Harry said impatiently.  
  
'You're right,' Ron said eventually, 'it's a scam, Harry. It's all a massive, massive scam.'  
  
'What?' Harry said incredulously. He hadn't really believed it when he'd said it himself, but from Ron's mouth…  
  
'None of it's real,' Ron said, blushing red, 'Hogwarts, magic. Muggles, Hagrid, the dragon, the stone, Voldemort, quidditch, flying, the troll. Everything – it's all fake. It's a huge scam.'  
  
'But… but everyone believes it!' Harry protested. He realised suddenly that the room was silent. Everyone was staring at him and Ron. Hermione returned with Dumbledore and McGonagall on either side, and a man who was an obvious muggle.  
  
'No,' Ron said quietly, 'I'm sorry, Harry. Just you.'  
  
'Everyone else knows?'  
  
'Of course,' Hermione said, trying to sound brisk but sounding nervous instead, 'magic's not real, Harry. How could it be?'  
  
'I…' Harry was speechless.  
  
'Did you really believe you were a famous wizard?' Draco appeared from nowhere and laughed with soft spite, 'it's all lies, Harry Potter. All lies.' 


End file.
